Carrier



Aug. 11, 1942.. MILL 2,292,463

CARRIER Filed Sept. 29, 1939 Patented Aug. 11, 1942 V UNITED STATE PATENT I OFFICE CARRIER WilliamM. Mill, Worcester, Mass. Application Scptember 29, 1939, Serial No. 297,098

7 Claims.

I This invention relates to a carrier or carrier bar for conveying materials, particularly in sheet orirod'form, from one'place to another,.or thru a machine for .processing the "material conveyed.

Objects of the invention include the provision of a carrier for material, particularly but not necessarily in sheet or rod form, which receives the material and grips it in an automatic manner without attention from the operator; the

provision of sucha carrier which comprises two members resiliently urged together to 'form a clamp or gripping means for the material to be conveyed, said members being so shaped as to 'form.,a trough or funnel-like receptor for,the material, whereby the material upon being fed thereto will per se automatically forcethe membersapart against the resilient action, there being a stop to limit the feed of the material and locate the same; the provision of such a carrier L wherein the members are hinged together by 7 tion will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a general view showing the relation of carrier bars embodying the present invention to a conveyor;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the carrier bar;

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of the carrier shown in Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are corresponding broken elevational views of one end of each of the members comprising the carrier;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 3, on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 7 is a section on line 11 of Fig. 3, on an enlarged scale.

In Fig. l, the numeral I6 denotes a chain, belt, or other conveyor, advancing in the direction of the arrow, and having attached thereto, as by rivets or bolts, the cross bars l2 which comprise the carriers to which this invention is directed.

Each carrier l2 comprises two elongated and parallel members l4 and I6 which may be made of stamped metal or other suitable material. Along corresponding free edges, these members are bent away from'each other to form a trough or funnel-like guide entrance between them, as seen at l8, which acts as a receptor and guide for the material to be inserted therebetween. At the opposite edges of the members, they are resilgenerally U-shaped' spring clips 26, and also at this edge, the member I4 is providedwith rearwardly extending lugs 22 thru which the carriers are bolted or riveted to the chain or belt I i).

The clips -'are attached to the members I4 and 6 in the following manner; each member l4 and I6 is provided with a series-o'f adjacent depending lugs 24 and 26, respectively. Each'lug 24 has an aperture 28'centra1ly'1ocat'ed therein,

pivotal relation. Clips 20 are further provided with transverse grooves 34 fitting and coopcrating with longitudinal projections '35 on the members I4 and I 6 'toaidinpreventing loss of the clips by possibly sliding ofi the lugs 26.

The member I6 is formed with lateral extensions 38 which comprise bent portions of the member itself. These extensions provide additional rigidity of the member I6. The member I4 is provided with bent extensions 40 which are longer than extensions 38, and are located under extensions 38, to form a bottom for the carrier when opened, so as to prevent material inserted therein from sliding through the carrier and also to uniformly locate the material with respect to the carrier and possible processing devices for the material carried.

In the operation of the device, the carrier bars [2 travel in sequence past a hopper or other material feeding device. Such device may be arranged to feed lengths of sheet, rod, or other forms of material, in timed relation to the passage of the carriers, whereby such pieces of material are thrust into the guide trough l8 and, by their inertia, pivot member I6 about the pro-- jections 30, with respect to the member IA. The material then comes to rest against the stop extension 40, and the spring clips 20 cause the members 14, I6 to clamp the material. In this manner the material to be conveyed is automatically gripped in the carriers and traveled forward with little or no attention. It is also contemplated that an operator may manually thrust the pieces of material into the carriers, and accuracy of placement is not important because the troughs l8 will guide the material into the carriers in correct location, and the extension iently secured together in a pivotal manner by 40 will cause the material to be properly seated.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limted to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. In a carrier for a conveyor, a pair of elongated parallel elements pivoted together adjacent one edge thereof and having diverging portions, a spring means urging said elements toward each other, said spring means comprising a clip embracing corresponding edges of said elements to hold said elements together in pivotal relation, and a flange on one element extending laterally beyond an edge of the other elementto act as a stop for material entering the carrier.

2. In a device of the class described, two elongated parallel elements, one of said elements having an aperture adjacent one edge thereof, the other element having a corresponding projection fitting in said aperture, means urging said parts together whereby said elements are yieldingly pivoted about said projection, and a flange along one edge of one element, extending beyond the corresponding edge of the other element to act as a stop means.

3. In a device of the class described, a carrier comprising two parallel elements, one of said elements having a lateral projection at one edge thereof extending beyond the corresponding edge of the other element, means pivotally connecting said elements adjacent said edges and comprising an aperture in one element, a depression in the other element corresponding to said aperture and cooperating therewith, and spring means urging said elements toward each other.

4. In a device of the class described, a carrier comprising a pair of elongated parallel elements, one element having an aperture therein adjacent one edge thereof, the other element having a rounded depression which extends laterally therebeyond and seats in the aperture in the other element, a U-shaped spring having a depression in one arm thereof embracing the corresponding edges of said element adjacent the aperture and its cooperating depression, the depression in the spring fitting into the depression in the element.

5. In a device of the class described, a pair of parallel elongated bars, each bar having an extension, the extension of one of said bars having an aperture, the extension of the other bar having a depression which extends laterally into said aperture forming a pivotal bearing area, a U- shaped spring clip having a depression in one of its arms fitting into the depression in said bar, the ends of the arms of the spring clip being provided with inwardly facing grooves fitted over corresponding projections on the sides of the bars.

6. In a device of the class described, a pair of elongated parallel elements having flared lips along corresponding edges, means securing one of said elements in relatively stationary position, a fulcrum between said elements whereby the other element may pivot with relation to the secured element, said fulcrum being located adjacent one edge of the elements, means resiliently holding the elements in abutting relation, and a flange on the stationary element extending laterally beyond the corresponding edge of the other element.

7. In a device of the class described, a plurality of elongated parallel elements located in side by side relation and having diverging material receiving portions, a pivot between said elements comprising an aperture in one element and an interengaging projection on another element, resilient means holding said elements together in yielding relation and comprising a spring clip embracing the portions of said elements adjacent the pivot, one of said elements being fixed to a support, and the other element extending beyond said fixed element, whereby said other element may be engaged to pivot it away from said fixed element.

WILLIAM M. MILL. 

